Davis regains seat amid low turnout

Former shadow Home Secretary David Davis on Friday won the Haltemprice and Howden by-election triggered by his decision to make a stand over civil liberties, although only a third of voters turned out.

The 59-year-old, who quit parliament last month over what he said was the government's attack on personal freedoms, took 17,113 votes, on a turnout of 35 percent, with the Green Party trailing a long way behind in second place with 1,758 votes.

The result had never been in doubt from the moment both the Labour and Liberal Democratic parties said they would not field candidates.

"We have fired a shot across the bows of Gordon Brown's arrogant, arbitrary and authoritarian government," Davis said in his victory speech after the results of Thursday's ballot were announced.

The last time Davis contested his seat, in the 2005 parliamentary election, 70.2 percent of the electorate turned out and he received 22,792 votes.

Davis, who stood next to candidate Miss Great Britain, Gemma Garrett, as the results were read out, said he would return to parliament next week "with a clear mandate to fight Gordon Brown's vision of big brother Britain tooth and nail".

Davis wanted voters in Haltemprice and Howden, near Hull, to use the ballot to send a message to the government that its plan to be able to detain terrorist suspects without charge for up to 42 days was an affront to civil liberties.

Many observers believe the seriousness of his message was diluted by having to stand against one of the biggest and most eccentric collections of candidates assembled at a by-election, including Lord Biro of the Church of the Militant Elvis and Mad Cow-Girl of the Monster Raving Loony Party.

However, 23 of the candidates that stood, including Miss Great Britain and David Icke, a former professional footballer who believes a reptilian bloodline rules the world, lost their deposits.

Despite the background of some of his opponents, Davis insisted the election was worthwhile and denied it had been a vanity exercise.

"This is an issue that matters. For five years it was almost impossible to hold this issue in the public eye because of reasonable media wishes to move on to other subjects," he told BBC TV, saying almost 10,000 people had written to him in support.

"Whilst the Westminster village can't understand it, around the public at large 70 percent of them see it as an understandable issue of principle."